Kuramochi Yōichi
Kuramochi Youichi comes from Chiba prefecture. He is a second year student of Seidou High School and the roommate of Sawamura Eijun and Masuko Tooru. Character Teammate's Opinion: "He's unexpectedly sensible and good at taking care of others. If only he could hit better ..."Miyuki about Kuramochi - Guidebook He has an evil like character lumped together with Miyuki. Kuramochi and Miyuki are often seen together at school. He likes playing pranksChapter 4 and often plays video games with his teammates in his dorm room after their daily training. Almost all his pranks are those what was done to them when they were still freshmen (eg. scary face entrance and over-eating before the evening training) Kuramochi took up wrestling when he was little - you can see him often doing some wrestling moves on Sawamura. His appearance is rough, but he has a sensitive side to him and with that remarkable detection skills. He has discerned Tanba's resentment towards Miyuki, first noticed Ryousuke's injury and finally, noticed Miyuki's rib injury after the "accidental" crash.Kuramochi caught on to Miyuki's injury in chapter 365. Relationship with other characters Miyuki Kazuya Like all generations so far showed in the manga, Kuramochi considered Miyuki as his first rival (much like Jun vs. Yuki and Sawamura vs. Furuya). Over time, they became buddies in and out the field. Kuramochi is the only person who has closest understanding of Miyuki and often ends up being irritated because of his uncommon behavior. Upon confirming Miyuki's injury, who is his peer, classmate and closest to a friend he has, Kuramochi has prioritized Miyuki’s well-being and vowed (togehter with Shirasu Kenjirou) to stop him if it all goes wrong, even if it means diminishing their chances to win the tournament and make Kataoka stay as their coach. However, he ended up demanding Miyuki to tough himself out and crumble only after they win.Kuramochi to Miyuki in chapter 369. This shows how much he cares about Miyuki. Kominato Ryosuke Kuramochi was Ryousuke’s partner in defense who could keep a close eye and cover for each other's mistakes. He has high regards to him and chose to support his senpai's decision to play despite injury, which shows his understanding behavior towards his teammates' needs. Sawamura Eijun Second to Miyuki, Eijun is his other buddy in a quite violent way. Kuramochi routinely wrestles with Eijun on any occassion which makes the latter suffer almost everynight, given the fact they are roommates. He was also the first one who discovered Eijun's childhood friend, Wakana, and never stopped teasing him about it. On field, Kuramochi always kicks Eijun's butt to remind him to be calm or focused. Despite his bullying he cares for Sawamura. When Eijun acquired yips, Kuramochi was the first person to express his concern with Miyuki, who replied with cold reasoning. Maezono Kenta Takashima Rei She recruited Kuramochi despite his yankee looks and reputation believing there is much more to his exterior personalityChapter 373.5 - Kuramochi's sidestory. Skills Kuramochi is a great runner who is the pride of Seido! His best weapon is his speed. His top speed is almost on par with Carlos’s from Inajitsu. Opposing infielders can’t relax with his base stealing and even with an infield grounder. His base running is good, when he sees a gap in the defence he steals the next base. He's a player opponents don't want to put on the base the most. Batting A switch-hitter who bats from the right or from the left side depending on the opposing pitcher. He was given the advice to concentrate on batting from the left side, hit ground balls and that way get on base, but he won’t give up on switch-hitting to be closer to his ideal Kazuo (also a switch-hitter). His batting power is insufficient, but his base running sense is outstanding, he puts great pressure on his opponents when he gets on base. Defense He throws the ball quickly after catching it, his throwing is also stable. He was able to perfect his middle infield connection play with Kominato Ryosuke, that could put the professionals to shame. It seems Kominato Haruichi, who is giving too much importance to throwing a ball, is still not quick enough comparing to Ryousuke. Player Statistics Defense: 4 (out of 5). Shoulder - 4 Running: 5 (out of 5) Physical strength: 4 (out of 5) Mental strength: 4 (out of 5) Batting: 3 (out of 5). Contact - 3, power - 3 *After summer tournament, batting average is .208 Bunting: 3 (out of 5) Power - 2 Other *He was a problem child in middle school, which is why no high school in his hometown invited him, so he went to Tokyo. *His hobbies are playing fighting games and bullying Sawamura. *He has respect for his mother and Matsui Kazuo. *Kuramochi make it to the first string in his first year in Seidou like Sawamura. *He and Miyuki were the only first year who joined the first string in his generation (before the 3rd years retired). *His room is one of the rare ones in the dorm since the three people living there are members of the first string (Matsuko, Kuramochi, Sawamura), when the usual is to have 1, 2 or neither of the student been member of the 1st string. Quotes *"I want to be the ace ... I want to bat clean up ... I want to be a regular and play in a game. Everyone comes here thinking that. But the truth is, there are only nine positions and close to a hundred players. The fittest make it and everyone else can only wait for the next chance. So we have to work hard for them too. You're not the only one who feels the pressure."Kuramochi to Eijun in chapter 6. *"Some tough bastard you are. Is it the sense of responsibility as the captain or the ego as a player? If you're that hell-bent on toughing it out, then make sure your determination lasts till the end. Crumble down only after we'll have won!"Kuramochi to Miyuki in chapter 369 Gallery Kuramochi.png|Kuramochi Youchi Yoichi.kuramochi.png|Kuramochi welcoming Eijun. YouichiWrestling1.jpg|Kuramochi often rough plays with Sawamura. This is what he calls "Drop Kick!" tumblr_n8a8jrhbmd1rmmkpzo1_500.jpg References Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Seidou High School Category:Shortstop